H.R. 4611: EACH Act of 2025
Sponsor
Ayanna Pressley
Democrat · MA-7
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Dec 19, 2025
Assigned to Subcommittee on Health. for review
Your federal health plan would have to cover abortion
Why it matters
H.R. 4611 has 185 cosponsors and reaches nearly every major federal health system — from Medicaid and Medicare to TRICARE, VA care, and federal employee coverage. If it passed, abortion care would move from a limited or excluded benefit to a required one across those programs.
H.R. 4611 would require abortion coverage in a long list of public and federally connected health programs. That includes Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, TRICARE, Indian Health Service, federal employee health benefits, veterans' care, and several systems that serve people in federal custody or refugee programs.
The bill also uses a broad definition of abortion services. It covers the abortion itself plus related care provided in conjunction with it, even if that related care happens on a different day.
This is not just an insurance bill. It also says the federal government must ensure access to abortion services for people entitled to care in federal facilities or facilities the government contracts with.
H.R. 4611 would also repeal current Affordable Care Act rules that structure how abortion coverage is handled in certain ACA-related plans. And it says the act would supersede other federal laws, while the bill states that stronger abortion-coverage protections under other laws would remain in place.
H.R. 4611 Bill Summary
What H.R. 4611 actually does.
Abortion coverage becomes mandatory across federal health plans
H.R. 4611 requires abortion coverage across a broad set of federal and federally linked programs, including Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, TRICARE, Indian Health Service, veterans' care, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Related care is covered too
The bill defines abortion services to include the abortion itself and related services provided in conjunction with it, even when that care happens at a different time or on a different day.
Federal facilities must ensure access
The bill goes beyond insurance coverage and says the federal government must ensure access to abortion services for people who receive care in federal facilities or facilities under federal contract.
Current ACA abortion-coverage rules are repealed
H.R. 4611 repeals the Affordable Care Act provision that has long governed how abortion coverage is treated in certain ACA-related plans, replacing that framework with a broader federal coverage rule.
Federal officials could not block state or private coverage
The bill says the federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or inhibit abortion coverage offered by state or local governments or by private health plans.
The bill says other federal restrictions would not control
H.R. 4611 states that it would supersede other federal laws and that it is not subject to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, while also keeping the rest of the law in force if one part is struck down.
Who benefits from H.R. 4611?
People on Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare
If your coverage comes through one of the country's biggest public health programs, H.R. 4611 would make abortion coverage a required benefit instead of a limited exception.
Federal workers, service members, military families, and veterans
People insured through federal jobs or military and veterans' systems would be covered, including TRICARE enrollees, federal employees, veterans, and some surviving family members.
People receiving care in federal custody or refugee programs
The bill reaches people in Department of Homeland Security or Department of Justice custody, children in refugee care systems, and refugees receiving federally supported medical assistance.
Patients in plans affected by federal abortion-coverage limits
The bill says federal officials could not block abortion coverage offered by states, local governments, or private health plans, which could widen access beyond the federal programs named directly.
Who is affected by H.R. 4611?
Federal agencies that run health programs
Agencies overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, Indian Health Service, veterans' care, refugee care, and federal employee coverage would have to rewrite benefit rules and implementation guidance.
Insurers, plan administrators, and federal contractors
Private carriers and contractors serving federal programs would need to update coverage, claims, and network policies to include abortion services as the bill defines them.
People and organizations that rely on federal abortion restrictions
Existing federal limits on abortion coverage would be displaced where H.R. 4611 applies, and the bill says religious-liberty challenges under RFRA would not govern this law.
States regulating abortion coverage
States would still set many insurance rules, but H.R. 4611 says the federal government could not block state or local abortion coverage and that conflicting federal law would give way.
HR4611 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Dec 19, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
House: Committee Action
Jul 22, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Natural Resources, Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced
Jul 21, 2025
Introduced in House
+2 more actions this day
About the Sponsor
Ayanna Pressley
Democrat, Massachusetts's 7th congressional district · 7 years in Congress
Committees: Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform
View full profile →
Cosponsors (185)
All 185 cosponsors are Democrats. Cosponsors represent 37 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, and 34 more.
Diana DeGette
Democrat · CO
Maxwell Frost
Democrat · FL
Janice Schakowsky
Democrat · IL
Alma Adams
Democrat · NC
Pete Aguilar
Democrat · CA
Gabe Amo
Democrat · RI
Yassamin Ansari
Democrat · AZ
Jake Auchincloss
Democrat · MA
Becca Balint
Democrat · VT
Nanette Barragán
Democrat · CA
Joyce Beatty
Democrat · OH
Wesley Bell
Democrat · MO
Cosponsor Coverage Map
Committee Sponsors
Veterans' Affairs Committee
9 of 24 committee members cosponsored
Foreign Affairs Committee
20 of 50 committee members cosponsored
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
19 of 47 committee members cosponsored
Judiciary Committee
17 of 42 committee members cosponsored
Armed Services Committee
24 of 57 committee members cosponsored
Natural Resources Committee
16 of 45 committee members cosponsored
Ways and Means Committee
14 of 45 committee members cosponsored
Energy and Commerce Committee
23 of 54 committee members cosponsored
17 Democrats across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
What laws does H.R. 4611 change?
2 changes
Sections Amended
Section 1303 of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18023) is repealed. (b) Conforming Amendments.-- (1) Basic health plans.--Section 1331(d) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18051(d))
striking paragraph (4)
Sections Repealed
1303 of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18023)
H.R. 4611 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Veterans' Affairs
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Health
- Introduced
- Jul 22, 2025
Assigned to Subcommittee on Health. for review
Dec 19, 2025
Official Sources
Official legislative page for the EACH Act of 2025, including status, text, sponsors, and actions.
Medicare is explicitly named in the bill summary, so the official Medicare site provides baseline information about the federal health program whose coverage rules would be changed.
TRICARE is specifically included in the bill, and this official Defense Health Agency page explains covered health services under the military health program.
The bill would apply to veterans' care, making the VA's official health care portal a relevant source for how that federal system operates.
Federal employee health benefits are directly covered by the bill, and OPM administers that program.
The bill would repeal current ACA abortion-coverage rules for certain plans, so the official ACA consumer site is relevant for the existing federal coverage framework.
Indian Health Service is one of the federal care systems listed in the analysis as subject to the bill's abortion coverage mandate.
The bill analysis references refugee care systems and refugee medical assistance, which are overseen through the federal refugee resettlement system.
H.R. 4611 Common Questions
Would H.R. 4611 require Medicaid and Medicare to cover abortion?
Yes. H.R. 4611 says Medicaid, Medicare, and other listed federal health programs would have to cover abortion services.
Would TRICARE, VA care, and federal employee plans be included?
Yes. The bill includes TRICARE, veterans' health benefits, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program among the plans that would have to cover abortion services.
What does H.R. 4611 count as abortion services?
It covers the abortion itself plus related care provided in conjunction with it, even if that care happens on a different day.
Does H.R. 4611 go beyond insurance coverage?
Yes. The bill also says the federal government must ensure access to abortion services for people receiving care in federal facilities or contracted facilities.
Would people in federal custody or refugee programs be covered?
Yes. H.R. 4611 reaches people in certain DHS and DOJ custody settings, refugee medical assistance programs, and related federal care systems.
Does H.R. 4611 repeal current ACA abortion-coverage rules?
Yes. The bill repeals the ACA provision that has structured abortion coverage rules for certain ACA-related plans.
Could the federal government still block abortion coverage in state or private plans?
Not under this bill. H.R. 4611 says the federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or inhibit abortion coverage offered by states, local governments, or private health plans.
Does H.R. 4611 say other federal abortion restrictions would still apply?
No. The bill says it would supersede other federal laws, and it also states that RFRA would not apply to this act.
Based on H.R. 4611 bill text
H.R. 4611 Bill Text
“To ensure affordable abortion coverage and care for every person, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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